Alliance

aLLfanC~DellJsLettel<
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES - SAN ANTONIO
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1983
EDITOR: GERARDA VOISINE
A PICTORIAL VIEW
OF THE EARLY TEXAS FRONTIER
Publicat i on in mid-November of Patrick
McGuire ' s latest book, Hermann Lungkwitz:
Romantic Landscapist on the Texas Fr ontier ,
together with a Gal lery exhibit of the art
ist ' s paintings and drawings will mark a
very special event for The Institute . Con­sidered
Texas ' first important landscape
artist, Lungkwitz (1813-1891) has bequeathed
us not only an artistic legacy, but also a
pictorial view of the early Texas frontier .
More than one hundred exquisite examples of
Lungkwitz's art are reproduced in Patrick's
comprehensive biography, and his superb
catalogue raisonne includes over three hun­dred
paintings and drawings. The Gallery
exhibit will encompass ninety-five paintings
and drawings graciously on loan to The Insti­tute
from museums, libraries, and the art­ist's
descendants .
Lungkwitz received his early training ~n
Dresden at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Following the Revolution of 1848-49 , he
abandoned a promising career in his native
Germany and emigrated to America. After
initially settling with his family i n the
German frontier colony of Fredericksburg,
the artist's later years were spent in San
Antonio and ,fir.&lly in Austin, where he
died in 1891 . Earl y works portray the
ruggedly beautiful land along the Guadalupe,
Pedernales and Colorado rivers, and in the
"granite mountains" north of Freder i cksburg;
whereas the artist ' s later paintings depict
the growing cities of San Antonio and Austin.
For forty years, despite public ind i fference
and severe frontier hardships, Lungkwitz
pursued his art and captured the unspoiled
wilderness of the Hill Country frontier
region.
The Lungkwitz exhibition will be hung
in the Lower Gallery from Thanksgivi ng
through January 8, 1984. Opening ceremo­nies
for the exhibit will be held in the
Dome Theater on Saturday, December 10th at
four o'clock in the afternoon. The cere­mony
will open with a concert featuring an
original work by composer Robert Allen White,
Sonata in A Minor, Opus 6 "Lungkwitz." Fol­lowing
the reception, Patrick will be avail­able
to autograph copies of his book. Pat­rick's
book and the accompanying exhibit are
truly a fascinating tribute to the German­American
Tricentennial of 1983.
Patricia Blackman
ANNOUNCING
Educational Programs is pleased to wel­come
f ormer docent Jean Browning to their
staff . Glad to have you aboard , Jean!
ATTENTION TOUR DOCENTS
Beginning November 1st, we will en­counter
construction crews at work on the
Exhibit Floor. Because of the scope of the
upcoming Cowboy exhibit, some cases will be
temporarily moved.
The major change in a specific area will
affect the French exhibit. The Castroville,
La Reunion, and Galveston artifacts will be
removed for the duration of the show. The
other cases will be moved closer to the Histo­wall,
and the hearse will remain.
The First Arrival case and the Chuck­wagon
will be shuffled a bit, and the Scots
area, remaining intact, will be more compact.
Dave Garrison, the designer of the in­stallation,
said that he and his crew would
be installing over 300 new lights and 800
feet of new wall in preparation for the cow­boy
artifacts.
RIDE 'EM COWBOY
We will have some help welcoming vis­itors
to ITC during December and January .
A towering sculpture of a vaquero roping
a longhorn will be awaiting all comers on
the bridge. It is but one of over 370
artifacts in The American Cowboy Exhibition
on loan to uSfrom the Library of Congress.
According to Carolyn Black, exhibit
materials are organized in three sections.
The first, titled "The Real Live Cowboy,"
covers a period from 1866 to 1886. It por­trays
what the open range cowboy actually
looked like and the seasonal nature 'of his
work in cowboy camps, on the range roundups
and on trail drives.
"The Cowboy Hero," the largest and most
complex section of the exhibit, explores the
popularity of the cowboy. This popularity
dated from the 1890's and it tends to be
based on a fantasy cowboy image rather
than actual facts. The image has endured
through the years, helped along by artists,
authors, filmmakers, film stars, impresarios,
recording stars, and advertisers--to name a
few.
The modern cowboy has not been neglected
in this showing . "Meanwhile Back at the
Ranch" deals with wranglers of the 20th
century. By making a comparitive study
between this section and the first, one
can more fully understand how modern techno­logy
has modified, though not eliminated,
traditional cowbot tasks .
Special activities in conjunction with
this exhibit have been planned by The
Institute. Watch for more details.
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December, 1983
Page 2
CHRISTMAS IN ...
DENMARK - A famous Danish Christmas
tradition is the Christmas plate. This
may have started long ago when the wealth­ier
Danes gave plates of cookies and fruit
to their servants for Christmas presents .
As the plates would be of a higher quality
than anything those servants would have,
they would be collected and kept separate
from the day-to-day china. The collection
of Christmas plates became fashionable, and
special plates were issued for the occasion .
Today, two leading manufacturers issue dif­ferent
designs each Christmas, often featur­ing
that delightful Christmas symbol, the
Julnisse. (A Julnisse is a Danish Christ­mas
elf.)
NORWAY - One of the most charming cus­toms
of Norway is the remembrance of the
animals and birds, since they were said to
be the only ones present at the birth of the
Holy Baby . The farm beasts are carefully
tended, and the cattle are given extra fod­der.
But the most beautiful of all the cus­toms
is saved for the birds. The especially
gleaned sheaf, saved from the fall harvest,
is placed on top of a tall pole in the yard,
and on Christmas morning, every gable, gate­way
and barndoor is decorated with a bundle
of grain - the bird's Christmas dinner.
JAPAN - As in China, less than one per
cent of the population of Japan is Christian.
Japan was a closed country even longer than
China, becoming really open to Western in­fluence
only about a hundred years ago .
There is no official celebration of Christ­mas,
yet two factors have helped to create
an unofficial widespread secular observance
of Christmas. The first was the influence
of Americans after the war. The second may
be seen stamped on the bottom of innumerable
toys and trinkets that we purchase at Christ­mastime,
"Made in Japan." As a whole indus­try
grew up in Japan supplying Americans'
insatiable demand for trinkets and ornaments
at Christmas, it was natural for the Japanese
to become interested in our celebration and
to absorb some of the customs into their own
society.
Non-Christian Japanese often celebrate
Christmas with all our trappings: A Chr i st­mas
tree and a dinner of turkey and trimmings .
Gi~ts are brought by Hoteiosho, one of the
gods from the Japanese pantheon. He is es­pecially
appropriate as an overseer of the
behavior of boys and girls since he has eyes
in the back of his head.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
As in years past, groups v~s~t~ng The
Institute during December will be invited to
bring their home-made ornaments to decorate a
tree here at The Institute. The children
delight in placing their own personally made
ornament on our tree, so if your group shows
up with ornaments, just include a stop at the
designated tree on your tour schedule.
COWBOYS NEED CHRISTMAS, TOO!
It was the Christmas season in Anson,
Texas, in the year 1884. The owner of the
Morning Star Hotel, M. G. Rhodes, decided he
needed to come up with something to bolster
the declining hotel trade . He hired a band
and invited the lonely cowhands and frontier
ladies from ranches for miles around to come
to a holiday dance. They all came that year
and the next and the next! So was born the
"Cowboy Christmas Ball."
During one of these balls, a New York
reporter, William Lawrence Chittenden ,
stayed at the Morning Star Hotel and parti­cipated
in what he termed a "lively gaited
soiree." Impressed by the event, he returned
to New York and wrote a poem about the shin­dig,
which he included in his book Ranch
Verses. The book went into sixteen editions,
immortalizing the dance at Anson and making
it a permanent part of American folklore.
The tradition is carried on every year
by the residents of Anson, and those who
attend the ball come dressed in the attire
of the 1880's. As in the days of old, it
continues to provide a reason for folks from
miles around to gather socially.
Marilyn Partin
A "SOUPER" SNAKE!
The first Polish settlement in America
was founded on Christmas Eve, 1854, at
Panna Maria. The small band of immigrants
had to suffer through a nine-week voyage
to Galveston, then travel several hundred
miles on foot to reach the oak tree where
Father Leopold Moczygemba celebrated Mass.
One night at supper, just as Father Moczy­gemba
was assuring them the worst was
over, Texas provided another bit of harsh,
frontier reality. A rattlesnake fell from
the rafters, straight into the soup. Poland
was never like this! (This article was taken
from the book, "Reflections on Texas" and can
be borrowed from the library.)
INFORMATION PLEASE
The library has several books on hand
for those who wish to do further research
on Christmas customs. The Christmas Almanac
contains information about different aspects
of Christmas including how "Merry Christmas"
is written in 35 different languages and the
customs and traditions in many different
countries .
If you are interested in Christmas
closer to home, look up Texas and Christmas :
A Collection of Traditions, Memories and
Folklore. Between now and January 1st,
these books are on reserve, which means that
they will available for your use only when
you're in the library.
DON'T FORGET THAT ITC WILL BE CLOSED ON
THANKSGIVING DAY AND CHRISTMAS DAY.
DIRECTED BY ...
Perhaps the mention of the name of
Cathy Everhart does not immediately conjure
up a face to go with it, but the face of
Cathy Everhart will be familiar to those who
have attended Brown Bag Day programs. For
the uninitiated, let me explain that during
Brown Bag Days, docents are encouraged to
bring a lunch to The Institute and at noon,
as they eat their lunches, they have the
opportunity to view some of the different
films and slide shows The Institute produces.
Media Specialist Cathy Everhart introduces
the different presentations, and more im­portantly,
sets up and operates the variety
of audio-visual equipment necessary for
these viewings.
Cathy started working at The Institute
as part-time, temporary help. Last December,
when there was a vacancy for a full-time
pos~t~on in the two-year-old Audio Visual
Department, she eagerly pursued it. With
such a wide range of tasks involved, in­cluding
operating a variety of machines,
doing research for the department projects,
writing rough copy, taking preliminary
photographs and doing routine office work
such as filing, typing and answering phones,
there is little opportunity to become bored,
and Cathy likes that. She enjoys the chal­lenges
presented by the wide variety of
jobs and is still learning, but she becomes
impatient with herself when she feels she
can't learn it all fast enough. she also
enjoys the job because of the people she
works with and because it enables her to
combine her two interests of writing and
photography.
Prior to her association with The
Institute, this versatile young lady worked
in print advertising for ten years and has
also done free-lance work in radio adver­tising.
She says that hearing her words
come out of the radio is a bit unsettling,
but none the less, thrilling. Perhaps even
bigger thrills are in store should the San
Antonio Monthly magazine decide to publish
the article Cathy has submitted to them.
Not all of Cathy's interests are so concep­tive.
This local graduate of Edison High
School also enjoys fishing--especially down
at the coast. It is unknown how lucky or
successful Cathy is with her fishing, but
it is known The Institute really got quite·
a catch when they caught Cathy.
SALLY SEZ .. .
Our December Alliance meeting this year
~s a very special one, in honor of our men­tor,
Patrick McGuire. He will speak to us
about his latest . book and exhibit on Hermann
Lungkwitz, after which we will adjourn to
the Gallery for an autograph party! Don't
miss this one!!
Since we will not be having our custom­ary
Christmas bash this year, it has been
suggested that during December, anyone wishing
to share goodies and recipies with us could
do so on their regular work day.
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December 1983
Page 3
ANDY, THE COWPOKE
A puppet show demonstrating how to read
brands and one titled "Sing Along with Andy"
are the two newest presentations at the Pup­pet
Theater. Both will work nicely with The
American Cowboy Exhibition. Stop by and see
these two new puppet shows.
ON THE SPOT!
Bonnie Truax, Director of Educational
Programs, had been invited by a local cable
TV station to tape a thirty-minute program
to promote "A Day in Pioneer Texas" scheduled
for that weekend. No problem. Bonnie was
eager to clue the public in on all the acti­vities
which were in store for them when
they visited the pioneers on the "Back 40."
Bonnie and the interviewer were inform­ally
chatting prior to the taping (I believe
this is a technique used to calm the guest),
when Bonnie casually inquired about the
scheduled air date and time of the piece she
was about to tape. "Oh ... " said her hostess,
" ... sometime next Tlleek." As the cameraman
warned them, "One minute to air time," a
stunned Bonnie realized that by "sometime
next week," Pioneer Day would be history,
and her planned presentation was totally
useless.
With less than a minute to prepare for
thirty minutes of television time, did our
Bonnie panic? Only internally, where no one
could see. Externally, she appeared cool ·
as a cucumber and called on her experience
as a docent when she gave many impromptu
tours to get her through that half hour.
When Bonnie related this experience
about two hours later, she was still in a
state of shock and wasn't certain exactly
what she had said while on camera. She knew
she had done OK though, because she had even
captured the interest and attention of the
studio crew and, like many tour docents ex­perience,
when her time was up, she still had
more she could say!
YEA SALLY!
We appreciate early on how good Sally
Wiskemann is at her job. We have each
experienced, first-hand, the outstanding ITC
volunteer program and recognize the value
of the training we receive. Now, Sally and
the ITC docents have received national recog­nition
because of our training program. With
Dr. Marian Martinello and Dr. Gillian Cook of
UTSA, Sally coauthored the article, "Preparing
Community Volunteers for Museum Education"
which appeared in the March, 1983 issue of
Curator, a quarterly publication of the Amer­ican
Museum of Natural History. So, not only
are WE more famous now, but Sally has
achieved national scholastic distinction and
well-deserved recognition. Congratulations
Sally! We're all proud to be a part of your
excellent ITC volunteer program! (A copy of
Curator is in the Alliance Office.)
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December 1983
Page 4
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 2nd, 1:00 PM, Auditorium:
Alliance Monthly Meeting
November 12th, 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM:
Heritage Tour to Laredo
November 13th, 3:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Trinity Wind Symphony & University
Choir present Music in America,
1850-1920
November 17th, 2:00 PM, Dome Theater :
Immigration Day
November 20th, Lower Gallery:
Raiford Stripling's Exhibit ends
November 23rd - January 8th, Lower Gallery:
Hermann Lungkwitz: German Romantic
Landscapist on the Texas Frontier
exhibit presented
November 24th :
Thanksgiving Day ... ITC closed
December 1st, 1:00 PM, Auditorium:
Alliance Monthly Meeting
December 4th, 3:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Alamo Heights High School presents
traditional Christmas Carols
December 10th, 4:00 PM, Dome & Gallery:
Formal Opening for Patrick McGuire's
book, Hermann Lungkwitz: Romantic
Landscapist on the Texas Frontier
December 15th, 2:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Immigration Day
December 25th:
Christmas Day ... ITC closed
December 26th - January 1st:
Heritage Tour to Old Williamsburg
LANDA PARK
Part of the Heritage Mystery Tour in­cluded
a stop at Landa Park in New Braun­fels.
The history of this park was very
interesting.
The land was owned by Joseph Landa, a
German immigrant who came to San Antonio
before moving to New Braunfels, and once
held a saw mill and grist mill. Landa's
wife persuaded him to return to Tennessee,
so he sold the land to Harry Landa, who was
responsible for building the first electric
power plant in New Braunfels. Helen Gould,
the wife of the train magnate, visited Landa
Park in her private train and was so impressed
with the area, she urged Harry Landa to get
the railroads to bring their trains there.
Seventy-five years ago, there was a special
excursion train which traveled from San
Antonio to New Braunfels. During World War
II, the train carried many servicemen back
and forth for a dance that was held in a
well-known and favored dance hall.
Almost from the beginning of its incep­tion
as a park, a children's masquerade was
held the first Saturday in May of each year .
It was a great social event and in the even­ing,
after the children's dance, the adults
had a dance of their own. German descendents
visiting the park today still enjoy the games
and entertainment of their forefathers--things
such as nine-pin bowling, dancing, singing,
and shooting. Landa Park is the site of the
oldest Schuetzenfest in Texas.
WHERE WERE WE GOING?
That was the question on everyone's
lips Saturday, September 24th, when a bus­load
of eager ITCers boarded the Kerrville
bus headed north on the expressway--on to
Johnson City, Austin, or maybe Wonder Cave?
No . . . after a few miles north, we turned off
on Farm Road 1863. The road wound through
beautiful, slightly hilly countryside which
made you realize why the pioneers wrote so
glowingly of the Texas hillsides, prompting
many to leave their secure homes for the
distant unknown.
How sneaky of them to take us to New
Braunfels by the back door, for we were
almost in Landa Park. We met Mrs. Margaret
Fields, a retired school teacher who is now
Director of the Sophienburg Museum in New
Braunfels. Mrs. Fields accompanied us on
a delightful train ride on their miniature
railroad. We passed picnickers as we crossed
the Comal River, admired ducks gliding across
a lovely lake with people paddling little
boats. We even saw a one hundred year old
oak tree and were awe-struck with its beauty .
After the train ride, Mrs. Fields took
us on a short walk to the Comal Springs and
discussed their source and history. We were
shown an outdoor kiln dating back to 1868
which is still in working condition. It had
originally been built to burn bat droppings
to make salt-peter during the Civil War.
After that short interlude, we boarded
the bus again to ... where? Pretty soon,
our destination was announced. We would be
a part of an old fashioned tradition that
is still being carried on today - - the Comal
County Fair.~ . . their 90th one. Since it was
nearly noon when we reached the fairgrounds,
we all headed straight for the food booths.
As we munched our favorite snacks, a western
band filled the warm afternoon air with its
music and children scurried through the
crowds with helium-filled balloons trailing
behind them. Our exposure to the lovely
sights, sounds, and smells completed the
picture of family fun for each of us.
We decided to visit the animals first;
prize hogs, sheep and rabbits were patiently
waiting to be judged. How beautiful even a
hog can be when he is washed and cared for!
The chickens and pigeons were most unusual--­Japanese
frizzle chickens, looking every bit
like some of us with our curly, unset hair,
and silky chickens with beautiful feathers
like silk (of course) draping to their feet.
The pheasants (silver, golden and Ghigi) were
rather nervous, seeming to find their cages
too confining for their glorious bodies. The
color ranges of their feathers were extraordin­ary
!
Plants were profuse in their color and
greenery; pies, cakes, cookies, jams and jel­lies
arrayed in case after case with one bite
out of each; crafts, ceramics and art-work
were all very interesting. Everything was
lovingly exhibited by the residents of Comal
County in hopes of attaining the blue ribbon
of excellence.
We ended our day with a flourish--a horse
race! What a spectacular ending for a spec­tacular
day!
Anne Marrou

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University of Texas at San Antonio. Institute of Texan Cultures Records

Transcript

aLLfanC~DellJsLettel<
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES - SAN ANTONIO
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1983
EDITOR: GERARDA VOISINE
A PICTORIAL VIEW
OF THE EARLY TEXAS FRONTIER
Publicat i on in mid-November of Patrick
McGuire ' s latest book, Hermann Lungkwitz:
Romantic Landscapist on the Texas Fr ontier ,
together with a Gal lery exhibit of the art
ist ' s paintings and drawings will mark a
very special event for The Institute . Con­sidered
Texas ' first important landscape
artist, Lungkwitz (1813-1891) has bequeathed
us not only an artistic legacy, but also a
pictorial view of the early Texas frontier .
More than one hundred exquisite examples of
Lungkwitz's art are reproduced in Patrick's
comprehensive biography, and his superb
catalogue raisonne includes over three hun­dred
paintings and drawings. The Gallery
exhibit will encompass ninety-five paintings
and drawings graciously on loan to The Insti­tute
from museums, libraries, and the art­ist's
descendants .
Lungkwitz received his early training ~n
Dresden at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Following the Revolution of 1848-49 , he
abandoned a promising career in his native
Germany and emigrated to America. After
initially settling with his family i n the
German frontier colony of Fredericksburg,
the artist's later years were spent in San
Antonio and ,fir.&lly in Austin, where he
died in 1891 . Earl y works portray the
ruggedly beautiful land along the Guadalupe,
Pedernales and Colorado rivers, and in the
"granite mountains" north of Freder i cksburg;
whereas the artist ' s later paintings depict
the growing cities of San Antonio and Austin.
For forty years, despite public ind i fference
and severe frontier hardships, Lungkwitz
pursued his art and captured the unspoiled
wilderness of the Hill Country frontier
region.
The Lungkwitz exhibition will be hung
in the Lower Gallery from Thanksgivi ng
through January 8, 1984. Opening ceremo­nies
for the exhibit will be held in the
Dome Theater on Saturday, December 10th at
four o'clock in the afternoon. The cere­mony
will open with a concert featuring an
original work by composer Robert Allen White,
Sonata in A Minor, Opus 6 "Lungkwitz." Fol­lowing
the reception, Patrick will be avail­able
to autograph copies of his book. Pat­rick's
book and the accompanying exhibit are
truly a fascinating tribute to the German­American
Tricentennial of 1983.
Patricia Blackman
ANNOUNCING
Educational Programs is pleased to wel­come
f ormer docent Jean Browning to their
staff . Glad to have you aboard , Jean!
ATTENTION TOUR DOCENTS
Beginning November 1st, we will en­counter
construction crews at work on the
Exhibit Floor. Because of the scope of the
upcoming Cowboy exhibit, some cases will be
temporarily moved.
The major change in a specific area will
affect the French exhibit. The Castroville,
La Reunion, and Galveston artifacts will be
removed for the duration of the show. The
other cases will be moved closer to the Histo­wall,
and the hearse will remain.
The First Arrival case and the Chuck­wagon
will be shuffled a bit, and the Scots
area, remaining intact, will be more compact.
Dave Garrison, the designer of the in­stallation,
said that he and his crew would
be installing over 300 new lights and 800
feet of new wall in preparation for the cow­boy
artifacts.
RIDE 'EM COWBOY
We will have some help welcoming vis­itors
to ITC during December and January .
A towering sculpture of a vaquero roping
a longhorn will be awaiting all comers on
the bridge. It is but one of over 370
artifacts in The American Cowboy Exhibition
on loan to uSfrom the Library of Congress.
According to Carolyn Black, exhibit
materials are organized in three sections.
The first, titled "The Real Live Cowboy,"
covers a period from 1866 to 1886. It por­trays
what the open range cowboy actually
looked like and the seasonal nature 'of his
work in cowboy camps, on the range roundups
and on trail drives.
"The Cowboy Hero," the largest and most
complex section of the exhibit, explores the
popularity of the cowboy. This popularity
dated from the 1890's and it tends to be
based on a fantasy cowboy image rather
than actual facts. The image has endured
through the years, helped along by artists,
authors, filmmakers, film stars, impresarios,
recording stars, and advertisers--to name a
few.
The modern cowboy has not been neglected
in this showing . "Meanwhile Back at the
Ranch" deals with wranglers of the 20th
century. By making a comparitive study
between this section and the first, one
can more fully understand how modern techno­logy
has modified, though not eliminated,
traditional cowbot tasks .
Special activities in conjunction with
this exhibit have been planned by The
Institute. Watch for more details.
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December, 1983
Page 2
CHRISTMAS IN ...
DENMARK - A famous Danish Christmas
tradition is the Christmas plate. This
may have started long ago when the wealth­ier
Danes gave plates of cookies and fruit
to their servants for Christmas presents .
As the plates would be of a higher quality
than anything those servants would have,
they would be collected and kept separate
from the day-to-day china. The collection
of Christmas plates became fashionable, and
special plates were issued for the occasion .
Today, two leading manufacturers issue dif­ferent
designs each Christmas, often featur­ing
that delightful Christmas symbol, the
Julnisse. (A Julnisse is a Danish Christ­mas
elf.)
NORWAY - One of the most charming cus­toms
of Norway is the remembrance of the
animals and birds, since they were said to
be the only ones present at the birth of the
Holy Baby . The farm beasts are carefully
tended, and the cattle are given extra fod­der.
But the most beautiful of all the cus­toms
is saved for the birds. The especially
gleaned sheaf, saved from the fall harvest,
is placed on top of a tall pole in the yard,
and on Christmas morning, every gable, gate­way
and barndoor is decorated with a bundle
of grain - the bird's Christmas dinner.
JAPAN - As in China, less than one per
cent of the population of Japan is Christian.
Japan was a closed country even longer than
China, becoming really open to Western in­fluence
only about a hundred years ago .
There is no official celebration of Christ­mas,
yet two factors have helped to create
an unofficial widespread secular observance
of Christmas. The first was the influence
of Americans after the war. The second may
be seen stamped on the bottom of innumerable
toys and trinkets that we purchase at Christ­mastime,
"Made in Japan." As a whole indus­try
grew up in Japan supplying Americans'
insatiable demand for trinkets and ornaments
at Christmas, it was natural for the Japanese
to become interested in our celebration and
to absorb some of the customs into their own
society.
Non-Christian Japanese often celebrate
Christmas with all our trappings: A Chr i st­mas
tree and a dinner of turkey and trimmings .
Gi~ts are brought by Hoteiosho, one of the
gods from the Japanese pantheon. He is es­pecially
appropriate as an overseer of the
behavior of boys and girls since he has eyes
in the back of his head.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
As in years past, groups v~s~t~ng The
Institute during December will be invited to
bring their home-made ornaments to decorate a
tree here at The Institute. The children
delight in placing their own personally made
ornament on our tree, so if your group shows
up with ornaments, just include a stop at the
designated tree on your tour schedule.
COWBOYS NEED CHRISTMAS, TOO!
It was the Christmas season in Anson,
Texas, in the year 1884. The owner of the
Morning Star Hotel, M. G. Rhodes, decided he
needed to come up with something to bolster
the declining hotel trade . He hired a band
and invited the lonely cowhands and frontier
ladies from ranches for miles around to come
to a holiday dance. They all came that year
and the next and the next! So was born the
"Cowboy Christmas Ball."
During one of these balls, a New York
reporter, William Lawrence Chittenden ,
stayed at the Morning Star Hotel and parti­cipated
in what he termed a "lively gaited
soiree." Impressed by the event, he returned
to New York and wrote a poem about the shin­dig,
which he included in his book Ranch
Verses. The book went into sixteen editions,
immortalizing the dance at Anson and making
it a permanent part of American folklore.
The tradition is carried on every year
by the residents of Anson, and those who
attend the ball come dressed in the attire
of the 1880's. As in the days of old, it
continues to provide a reason for folks from
miles around to gather socially.
Marilyn Partin
A "SOUPER" SNAKE!
The first Polish settlement in America
was founded on Christmas Eve, 1854, at
Panna Maria. The small band of immigrants
had to suffer through a nine-week voyage
to Galveston, then travel several hundred
miles on foot to reach the oak tree where
Father Leopold Moczygemba celebrated Mass.
One night at supper, just as Father Moczy­gemba
was assuring them the worst was
over, Texas provided another bit of harsh,
frontier reality. A rattlesnake fell from
the rafters, straight into the soup. Poland
was never like this! (This article was taken
from the book, "Reflections on Texas" and can
be borrowed from the library.)
INFORMATION PLEASE
The library has several books on hand
for those who wish to do further research
on Christmas customs. The Christmas Almanac
contains information about different aspects
of Christmas including how "Merry Christmas"
is written in 35 different languages and the
customs and traditions in many different
countries .
If you are interested in Christmas
closer to home, look up Texas and Christmas :
A Collection of Traditions, Memories and
Folklore. Between now and January 1st,
these books are on reserve, which means that
they will available for your use only when
you're in the library.
DON'T FORGET THAT ITC WILL BE CLOSED ON
THANKSGIVING DAY AND CHRISTMAS DAY.
DIRECTED BY ...
Perhaps the mention of the name of
Cathy Everhart does not immediately conjure
up a face to go with it, but the face of
Cathy Everhart will be familiar to those who
have attended Brown Bag Day programs. For
the uninitiated, let me explain that during
Brown Bag Days, docents are encouraged to
bring a lunch to The Institute and at noon,
as they eat their lunches, they have the
opportunity to view some of the different
films and slide shows The Institute produces.
Media Specialist Cathy Everhart introduces
the different presentations, and more im­portantly,
sets up and operates the variety
of audio-visual equipment necessary for
these viewings.
Cathy started working at The Institute
as part-time, temporary help. Last December,
when there was a vacancy for a full-time
pos~t~on in the two-year-old Audio Visual
Department, she eagerly pursued it. With
such a wide range of tasks involved, in­cluding
operating a variety of machines,
doing research for the department projects,
writing rough copy, taking preliminary
photographs and doing routine office work
such as filing, typing and answering phones,
there is little opportunity to become bored,
and Cathy likes that. She enjoys the chal­lenges
presented by the wide variety of
jobs and is still learning, but she becomes
impatient with herself when she feels she
can't learn it all fast enough. she also
enjoys the job because of the people she
works with and because it enables her to
combine her two interests of writing and
photography.
Prior to her association with The
Institute, this versatile young lady worked
in print advertising for ten years and has
also done free-lance work in radio adver­tising.
She says that hearing her words
come out of the radio is a bit unsettling,
but none the less, thrilling. Perhaps even
bigger thrills are in store should the San
Antonio Monthly magazine decide to publish
the article Cathy has submitted to them.
Not all of Cathy's interests are so concep­tive.
This local graduate of Edison High
School also enjoys fishing--especially down
at the coast. It is unknown how lucky or
successful Cathy is with her fishing, but
it is known The Institute really got quite·
a catch when they caught Cathy.
SALLY SEZ .. .
Our December Alliance meeting this year
~s a very special one, in honor of our men­tor,
Patrick McGuire. He will speak to us
about his latest . book and exhibit on Hermann
Lungkwitz, after which we will adjourn to
the Gallery for an autograph party! Don't
miss this one!!
Since we will not be having our custom­ary
Christmas bash this year, it has been
suggested that during December, anyone wishing
to share goodies and recipies with us could
do so on their regular work day.
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December 1983
Page 3
ANDY, THE COWPOKE
A puppet show demonstrating how to read
brands and one titled "Sing Along with Andy"
are the two newest presentations at the Pup­pet
Theater. Both will work nicely with The
American Cowboy Exhibition. Stop by and see
these two new puppet shows.
ON THE SPOT!
Bonnie Truax, Director of Educational
Programs, had been invited by a local cable
TV station to tape a thirty-minute program
to promote "A Day in Pioneer Texas" scheduled
for that weekend. No problem. Bonnie was
eager to clue the public in on all the acti­vities
which were in store for them when
they visited the pioneers on the "Back 40."
Bonnie and the interviewer were inform­ally
chatting prior to the taping (I believe
this is a technique used to calm the guest),
when Bonnie casually inquired about the
scheduled air date and time of the piece she
was about to tape. "Oh ... " said her hostess,
" ... sometime next Tlleek." As the cameraman
warned them, "One minute to air time," a
stunned Bonnie realized that by "sometime
next week," Pioneer Day would be history,
and her planned presentation was totally
useless.
With less than a minute to prepare for
thirty minutes of television time, did our
Bonnie panic? Only internally, where no one
could see. Externally, she appeared cool ·
as a cucumber and called on her experience
as a docent when she gave many impromptu
tours to get her through that half hour.
When Bonnie related this experience
about two hours later, she was still in a
state of shock and wasn't certain exactly
what she had said while on camera. She knew
she had done OK though, because she had even
captured the interest and attention of the
studio crew and, like many tour docents ex­perience,
when her time was up, she still had
more she could say!
YEA SALLY!
We appreciate early on how good Sally
Wiskemann is at her job. We have each
experienced, first-hand, the outstanding ITC
volunteer program and recognize the value
of the training we receive. Now, Sally and
the ITC docents have received national recog­nition
because of our training program. With
Dr. Marian Martinello and Dr. Gillian Cook of
UTSA, Sally coauthored the article, "Preparing
Community Volunteers for Museum Education"
which appeared in the March, 1983 issue of
Curator, a quarterly publication of the Amer­ican
Museum of Natural History. So, not only
are WE more famous now, but Sally has
achieved national scholastic distinction and
well-deserved recognition. Congratulations
Sally! We're all proud to be a part of your
excellent ITC volunteer program! (A copy of
Curator is in the Alliance Office.)
ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
November/December 1983
Page 4
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 2nd, 1:00 PM, Auditorium:
Alliance Monthly Meeting
November 12th, 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM:
Heritage Tour to Laredo
November 13th, 3:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Trinity Wind Symphony & University
Choir present Music in America,
1850-1920
November 17th, 2:00 PM, Dome Theater :
Immigration Day
November 20th, Lower Gallery:
Raiford Stripling's Exhibit ends
November 23rd - January 8th, Lower Gallery:
Hermann Lungkwitz: German Romantic
Landscapist on the Texas Frontier
exhibit presented
November 24th :
Thanksgiving Day ... ITC closed
December 1st, 1:00 PM, Auditorium:
Alliance Monthly Meeting
December 4th, 3:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Alamo Heights High School presents
traditional Christmas Carols
December 10th, 4:00 PM, Dome & Gallery:
Formal Opening for Patrick McGuire's
book, Hermann Lungkwitz: Romantic
Landscapist on the Texas Frontier
December 15th, 2:00 PM, Dome Theater:
Immigration Day
December 25th:
Christmas Day ... ITC closed
December 26th - January 1st:
Heritage Tour to Old Williamsburg
LANDA PARK
Part of the Heritage Mystery Tour in­cluded
a stop at Landa Park in New Braun­fels.
The history of this park was very
interesting.
The land was owned by Joseph Landa, a
German immigrant who came to San Antonio
before moving to New Braunfels, and once
held a saw mill and grist mill. Landa's
wife persuaded him to return to Tennessee,
so he sold the land to Harry Landa, who was
responsible for building the first electric
power plant in New Braunfels. Helen Gould,
the wife of the train magnate, visited Landa
Park in her private train and was so impressed
with the area, she urged Harry Landa to get
the railroads to bring their trains there.
Seventy-five years ago, there was a special
excursion train which traveled from San
Antonio to New Braunfels. During World War
II, the train carried many servicemen back
and forth for a dance that was held in a
well-known and favored dance hall.
Almost from the beginning of its incep­tion
as a park, a children's masquerade was
held the first Saturday in May of each year .
It was a great social event and in the even­ing,
after the children's dance, the adults
had a dance of their own. German descendents
visiting the park today still enjoy the games
and entertainment of their forefathers--things
such as nine-pin bowling, dancing, singing,
and shooting. Landa Park is the site of the
oldest Schuetzenfest in Texas.
WHERE WERE WE GOING?
That was the question on everyone's
lips Saturday, September 24th, when a bus­load
of eager ITCers boarded the Kerrville
bus headed north on the expressway--on to
Johnson City, Austin, or maybe Wonder Cave?
No . . . after a few miles north, we turned off
on Farm Road 1863. The road wound through
beautiful, slightly hilly countryside which
made you realize why the pioneers wrote so
glowingly of the Texas hillsides, prompting
many to leave their secure homes for the
distant unknown.
How sneaky of them to take us to New
Braunfels by the back door, for we were
almost in Landa Park. We met Mrs. Margaret
Fields, a retired school teacher who is now
Director of the Sophienburg Museum in New
Braunfels. Mrs. Fields accompanied us on
a delightful train ride on their miniature
railroad. We passed picnickers as we crossed
the Comal River, admired ducks gliding across
a lovely lake with people paddling little
boats. We even saw a one hundred year old
oak tree and were awe-struck with its beauty .
After the train ride, Mrs. Fields took
us on a short walk to the Comal Springs and
discussed their source and history. We were
shown an outdoor kiln dating back to 1868
which is still in working condition. It had
originally been built to burn bat droppings
to make salt-peter during the Civil War.
After that short interlude, we boarded
the bus again to ... where? Pretty soon,
our destination was announced. We would be
a part of an old fashioned tradition that
is still being carried on today - - the Comal
County Fair.~ . . their 90th one. Since it was
nearly noon when we reached the fairgrounds,
we all headed straight for the food booths.
As we munched our favorite snacks, a western
band filled the warm afternoon air with its
music and children scurried through the
crowds with helium-filled balloons trailing
behind them. Our exposure to the lovely
sights, sounds, and smells completed the
picture of family fun for each of us.
We decided to visit the animals first;
prize hogs, sheep and rabbits were patiently
waiting to be judged. How beautiful even a
hog can be when he is washed and cared for!
The chickens and pigeons were most unusual--­Japanese
frizzle chickens, looking every bit
like some of us with our curly, unset hair,
and silky chickens with beautiful feathers
like silk (of course) draping to their feet.
The pheasants (silver, golden and Ghigi) were
rather nervous, seeming to find their cages
too confining for their glorious bodies. The
color ranges of their feathers were extraordin­ary
!
Plants were profuse in their color and
greenery; pies, cakes, cookies, jams and jel­lies
arrayed in case after case with one bite
out of each; crafts, ceramics and art-work
were all very interesting. Everything was
lovingly exhibited by the residents of Comal
County in hopes of attaining the blue ribbon
of excellence.
We ended our day with a flourish--a horse
race! What a spectacular ending for a spec­tacular
day!
Anne Marrou